Want to expand your business, learn more about your customers, or analyze the competition? The Seattle Public Library provides many tools that can help you advance these business objectives. The 7th floor reference desk at the Central Branch of the Seattle Public Library (1000 4th Ave.) is a great place to expand or alter your business strategy.

Reference librarians at the 7th floor desk provide instruction on how to use library resources in the library and from home, including guidance on how to access the Library’s databases, which include more than 500 trade journals with trends and statistics on business products and services. The Seattle Public Library also offers access to many local business directories and news sources, including Washington CEO, the Puget Sound Business Journal, and the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.

Books in the Seattle Public Library’s reference collection have information on buying habits, consumer expenditures, expense ratios for businesses of various sizes, legal issues for businesses, start-up help, demographic information, industry trends, popular business software, and management issues. All of these books can be placed on hold via the website or in consultation with a librarian.

Also, be sure to check out the popular library database ReferenceUSA, which lists over 13 million businesses that can be searched by size, location, product, age, etc., in any combination.

For more information on growing your business through the library, call 206-386-4636 and ask for a business research specialist, or email the library via the “Ask a Question” feature on Seattle Public Library’s home page.